As can be seen in a related posting, the 2% Fidelity card (which was I would argue the best to combine with a 5% grocery etc. card) is no longer being issued (the existing ones are still good though. Fidelity now has only a 1.5% 529 card and a 1.5% investments card.

g10ny

Serene Member

posted: Nov. 18, 2006 @ 4:18p

It seems that Fidelity hates to be the leader.

joelmeu

Member

posted: Nov. 19, 2006 @ 3:07p

LustfortheMoment said: [Q][Q]Some have even seen a $0 annual fee for the Platinum card

I was only offered the $39 fee in spite of a FICO of 804. Perhaps their criteria for the $0 fee is not a function of credit risk. Only the shadow knows.: ) Yeah, if they're not making some kind of assessment about which applicants might be willing to pay a higher annual fee (e.g. a function of FICO/income/card usage/etc.) or which applicants will be given a higher credit limit and therefore reap more 2% Cash Back (which can be then be somewhat offset with a higher annual fee), then they might just be throwing out different offers to learn "what the market will bear".

[Q]However, I'm just a stubborn babe and am not willing to fork over an annual fee to any issuer.Yeah, I share your sentiments.

[Q]I also don't know what kind of CLs they provide with these Orchard cards.Someone over on the FlyerTalk forums said they called Orchard Bank and learned that $2000 is the high end of the credit limit Orchard Bank will offer. If true, that's a bummer.

If someone does manage to get a credit limit higher than $2000, I'd certainly appreciate hearing their report.

g10ny

Serene Member

posted: Nov. 19, 2006 @ 3:41p

I got a 12 mo. 0%BT no fee Orchard card 6 months ago following a mailed invitation (I had no idea it was an Orchard offer, the envelope for applying by mail had a HSBC address), the CL was $2K indeed. Recently I was able to raise it to 2.4K, no pull.

ProfessorEd

Senior Member - 2K

posted: Nov. 21, 2006 @ 10:42a

A useful improvement would be to add foreign spending as a category.

This would lead to suggesting a card that had no special offshore fees for some people. Since most cards seem to charge 3% (and only 1% is from the credit card company) this amounts to 2% return if you have a no fee card. For some heavy traveler's people this might be decisive. Since the card can be kept in the drawer when in the US, the hassle factor in having a card for this is lower than for some categories. Because of how much may be charged on a single vacation, this could be important for some.

In terms of programming this would be the same as a 2% reward (and with no cap) and would be doable. A footnote would be needed to explain this.

joelmeu

Member

posted: Nov. 22, 2006 @ 7:20p

ProfessorEd said: [Q]A useful improvement would be to add foreign spending as a category.

This would lead to suggesting a card that had no special offshore fees for some people. Since most cards seem to charge 3% (and only 1% is from the credit card company) this amounts to 2% return if you have a no fee card. For some heavy traveler's people this might be decisive. Since the card can be kept in the drawer when in the US, the hassle factor in having a card for this is lower than for some categories. Because of how much may be charged on a single vacation, this could be important for some.

In terms of programming this would be the same as a 2% reward (and with no cap) and would be doable. A footnote would be needed to explain this.That's a great idea ProfessorEd!

This is not a feature that I've scoured card offers for in the past. I will do some research.

If anyone happens to know of some rewards cards that also have low international transaction fees (or non-rewards cards that have low international transaction fees), please do share.

g10ny

Serene Member

posted: Nov. 22, 2006 @ 7:31p

ProfessorEd said: [Q]In terms of programming this would be the same as a 2% reward (and with no cap)

It's the first time when I'm looking at my NoHassle card like to a 3-4% card.

joelmeu

Member

posted: Nov. 25, 2006 @ 11:42p

g10ny said: [Q]ProfessorEd said: [Q]In terms of programming this would be the same as a 2% reward (and with no cap)

It's the first time when I'm looking at my NoHassle card like to a 3-4% card.The FlyerTalk Wiki has a wiki page devoted to Foreign Exchange Fees:http://flyertalk.com/wiki/index.php/Credit/Debit/ATM_Cards_and_Foreign_Exchange

There seems to be a fair amount of conflicting info/perception out there about foreign transaction fees -- probably in part due to the fact that cards have been changing (e.g. MBNA cards beginning to charge foreign transaction fees, etc.) and that it's often difficult to get a complete understanding from the Terms & Conditions posted online.

ProfessorEd

Senior Member - 2K

posted: Nov. 30, 2006 @ 12:38p

As discussed in the thread on the Fidelity program, I was able to get a new Fidelity csrd with the 2% terms so some may be able to grab it still, and with a 5% everday card (or better) for groceries, gas, pharmacy, is probably best for most, or so I think.

joelmeu

Member

posted: Dec. 2, 2006 @ 8:42a

Thanks for the tip ProfessorEd. I just tried the link (https://wwwn.applyonlinenow.com/USCCapp/Ctl/entry?sc=LWXE&mc=A000001ROG) to apply for the Fidelity 2% 529 card and found that it's no longer working.

THats good, but I would also add the 3% Chase home improvement card. Can be very nice for a remodel.

heykarinakarina

Member

posted: Dec. 20, 2006 @ 7:47a

I carry:

Chase Rewards Plus (everyone should!)

Discover Platinum (hey, it's exciting when the Get More is really cool categories and ability to credit account at $20 increments. And doubling by getting gift cards is pretty cool too. *I do not use it every month, only when the categories are useful to me.)

Discover Gas (to take my gas purchases off my CRP card, because it's very easy for me to max out on caps if I don't split things up. I love this for car maintanence. I love Discover. I also really love Discover's new merchant network... it blows away many. I use both FW and Discover to shop online).

Upromise (got rid of Dividend... this works very well for me as I also am an avid couponer)

mtvU (gotta have this for restaurants)

Orchard Gold 2% card

Emergency card: Blue from American Express... negotiated and granted an extremely low APR.

Total cards in my wallet: 6* - 7

Have but rarely use:

Bank of America Gold Mercedes Benz

Miscellaneous Cards:

Overstock.com (ok I've been using this card a lot lately to spruce up my closet)Amazon.comVictoria's Secret (because they always remember MY birthday. $10 B-day gift card and a really good rewards program, especially when usually only I shop for their clearance or sale items.)Nordstroms Signature (I've been using this card as well to spruce up my closet... though I shop at Nordstrom's Rack and rarely ever in Nordstroms. I love this, because I earn gift certificates that I can use in Spa Nordstrom or Anastasia to get services I'd otherwise pay out of pocket on).Saks Fifth Avenue (I use for shopping at Off 5th when they have big sales, I only buy shoes at Saks at full retail... and must be fully convinced they have never been tried on by anyone)

and probably more I have forgotten

joelmeu

Member

posted: Jan. 11, 2007 @ 11:45p

heykarinakarina said: [Q]I carry:...Discover Platinum (hey, it's exciting when the Get More is really cool categories and ability to credit account at $20 increments. And doubling by getting gift cards is pretty cool too. *I do not use it every month, only when the categories are useful to me.)

I was not a big Discover card fan until the past holiday season Discover basically offered 10% (!) Cash Back on all purchases at the local mall (and like 80 other malls around the country). (The actual deal was $20 for every $200 spent, up to $1000.) I'm considering switching my Discover Gas card into a vanilla Discover card because with Discover Gas, you can't get the "Get More" 5% offers (though the 5% back on auto maintenance is unique to the Discover Gas card; I'll miss that).

joelmeu

Member

posted: Jan. 13, 2007 @ 5:50p

By the way, the Credit Card Tune-Up calculator has been updated to include several cards that it did not include before. Some cards were added by request. Others are just good, niche cards that had been previously overlooked (e.g. Chase BP Rewards Visa, Chase Borders 3-2-1 Platinum Visa, etc.).

AORs aside, I don't see how anything can touch this.Your AT&T Universal card caught my eye, but when I looked it up, it appeared that it's only paying 5% on AT&T stuff, not on gas/grocery/drug stores. Here are the terms and conditions I read: Terms & Conditions.Did they change the deal on that card or have I got the wrong card?

SUCKISSTAPLES

FW Historian

posted: Jan. 19, 2007 @ 12:07a

they changed the rewards on ATT cards

psychtobe

Senior Member - 3K

posted: Jan. 19, 2007 @ 12:41a

SUCKISSTAPLES said: [Q]they changed the rewards on ATT cardsright. I'm grandfathered in under charter membership; who knows how long that will last.

Usually Citi is offering at least 1 similar card which offers 5% on everyday spending for at least 12 months. THe advantage of my deal is that it accrues as Thank You points rather than Cash Back, and those are worth more than 1 cent each to me.

joelmeu

Member

posted: Jan. 20, 2007 @ 10:35a

psychtobe said: [Q]SUCKISSTAPLES said: [Q]they changed the rewards on ATT cardsright. I'm grandfathered in under charter membership; who knows how long that will last.

Usually Citi is offering at least 1 similar card which offers 5% on everyday spending for at least 12 months. THe advantage of my deal is that it accrues as Thank You points rather than Cash Back, and those are worth more than 1 cent each to me.I'm curious about how you value ThankYou points. Which redemption option(s) make them worth more than 1 cent for you? And, if you don't mind sharing, what value do you assign to a ThankYou point?TIA

g10ny

Serene Member

posted: Jan. 20, 2007 @ 12:41p

Flights, of course!

joelmeu

Member

posted: Jan. 21, 2007 @ 2:42p

g10ny said: [Q]Flights, of course!And not as many restrictions when redeeming ThankYou points for flights as with other point schemes.I'm curious; what value do you assign to a ThankYou point? (And, if you feel like sharing, how did you arrive at that value for your situation?)

asdf9876

Happy Member

posted: Jan. 21, 2007 @ 3:02p

joelmeu said: [Q]I'm curious; what value do you assign to a ThankYou point? (And, if you feel like sharing, how did you arrive at that value for your situation?)

.98 cents per point *for me*.

1) I don't have any studnet loans (1 cent=1point)2) GCs prevent me from using my 2% card (hence .98 cents=1 pint)3) Every flight I find on the TY network is 1 cent = 1point or worse. The vast, vast majority are worse for me. Yes you can probably fly from a regional airport in Montana to a obscure city in Mexico for a better deal but since I can't reliably find the 1 cent= 1point (as compared to southwest.com, Travelocity.com, Orbitz.com, etc) then I default to 2).

g10ny

Serene Member

posted: Jan. 21, 2007 @ 3:11p

My plan is to hoard TY points in order to redeem them for roundtrips to Europe. I still have a long way until I'll reach 50K TY points (the minimum for these). I'll let you know the result, but it will still take quite some time. Last time a ticket I was interested in, gotten via Expedia, was about $600.

asdf, because of the current Discover Get More program, the reference value of a TY point for flight is 0.95c. (this is about your 3rd point)

asdf9876

Happy Member

posted: Jan. 21, 2007 @ 3:13p

[Q]I still have a long way until I'll reach 50K TY points

You waited so long inflation stung you. The fixed point TY European option is now 60K TY points. <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-sad.gif" border=0>

[Q]asdf, because of the current Discover Get More program, the reference value of a TY point for flight is 0.95c. (this is about your 3rd point)

While true, this is limited in value and expires in 2 months. I was talking about long term value. Obviously if a temporary promotion comes up I don't buy a flight with TY points during this time period.

joelmeu

Member

posted: Feb. 10, 2007 @ 8:28p

At least one denizen of the FatWallet forums reported a strange problem in the online Credit Card Tune-Up calculation engine whereby, under certain situations in which the calculation was complex enough, it would return no results.

This problem has been resolved.

(It's very strange because the problem doesn't manifest itself on my local development system, only on the web hosting provider's system and there's no error thrown. It seems that the recent addition of several AMEX cards pushed the complexity of the calculation a little beyond what the web hosting provider's system could handle. I removed a few of the not-so-compelling cards to bring the complexity back down to what the web host could handle.)

joelmeu

Member

posted: Mar. 4, 2007 @ 12:05a

I've been contemplating how to value the Citi Driver's Edge "Drive Rewards" earnings and came up with a question to which I haven't yet found an answer.

As you probably know, the "Drive Rewards" program can effectively double one's earnings with the Driver's Edge card. So you can earn up to 12% on EDP spending and 2% on non-EDP spending in the first year ($1000 max earnings per year). And you can earn up to 6% on EDP and 2% on non-EDP in subsequent years. In a multiple-car and multiple-driver household, it could make a big difference if, for example, spouses were each able to participate in the "Drive Rewards" program under a different Citi Driver's Edge card.

I know one can get multiple Driver's Edge Cards, but I don't know if spouses can both participate in the "Drive Rewards" program, one vehicle per card. Has anyone tried this or heard of success in doing it?

heykarinakarina

Member

posted: Mar. 4, 2007 @ 5:09a

joelmeu said: [Q]heykarinakarina said: [Q]I carry:...Discover Platinum (hey, it's exciting when the Get More is really cool categories and ability to credit account at $20 increments. And doubling by getting gift cards is pretty cool too. *I do not use it every month, only when the categories are useful to me.)

I was not a big Discover card fan until the past holiday season Discover basically offered 10% (!) Cash Back on all purchases at the local mall (and like 80 other malls around the country). (The actual deal was $20 for every $200 spent, up to $1000.) I'm considering switching my Discover Gas card into a vanilla Discover card because with Discover Gas, you can't get the "Get More" 5% offers (though the 5% back on auto maintenance is unique to the Discover Gas card; I'll miss that).

Joelmeu... if I didn't have two existing accounts with Discover, I would convert as I need to. Keep it as the Gas card until a good category appears that I can use, then convert. Yeah, I loved getting the gift cards last year for shopping at certain malls. That really rocked. I hope they do that again this year.

joelmeu

Member

posted: Mar. 4, 2007 @ 2:19p

heykarinakarina said: [Q]Joelmeu... if I didn't have two existing accounts with Discover, I would convert as I need to. Keep it as the Gas card until a good category appears that I can use, then convert. Yeah, I loved getting the gift cards last year for shopping at certain malls. That really rocked. I hope they do that again this year.Converting between Discover Gas and Discover (vanilla) is great idea. I haven't done credit card converting in the past, but that's a compelling reason to try it.Thanks!

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